Ships The Viper's belly

[Mephane]

Like, did you notice their bellies? Like literal bellies. Look at the underside of a Viper. The bulky boxy shape exists solely to accomodate the one-size-fits all cargo hatch. It is more tastefully integrated into the Eagle, and any ship with a large flat underside (Hauler, Adder), and starting with the Cobra the size of the cargo hatch is so small that the ship doesn't need extra bulk just so that the thing fits on a flat surface.

As a result, the Viper seems to hug the ground when landed, the belly is so close to it that I it doesn't seem able to safely land on uneven ground - compare that with a Cobra which has ample room below it.

The belly is also the reason why the underside doesn't have that elegant triangular shape from front to back - the shape is broken entirely by the boxy bulk around the cargo hatch.

 

[CMDR Hagglebeard]

I would love to be able to buy a slightly faster Viper, by say, 20 m/s overall, without the cargo hatch. Who even fits cargo racks to their Vipers, anyways? Maybe the cargo hatch could be an optional upgrade, which would fill an (extra) internal slot, so it is removable allowing Vipers to have better internals? We don't want to stop Viper pilots from being pirates, but yes, I agree.

 

[Reaver 2.0]

The belly is also the reason why the underside doesn't have that elegant triangular shape from front to back

Yeah...cuz like, y'know we like sooo need another wedge shaped ship.

 

[Perseus]

I would love to be able to buy a slightly faster Viper, by say, 20 m/s overall, without the cargo hatch. Who even fits cargo racks to their Vipers, anyways? Maybe the cargo hatch could be an optional upgrade, which would fill an (extra) internal slot, so it is removable allowing Vipers to have better internals? We don't want to stop Viper pilots from being pirates, but yes, I agree.

I get where you're coming from but I usually carry an 8tcargo rack in my Viper. I use it to keep the weight down as I rarely use it for trading but I have a personal rule that I must rescue slaves. I can also change it for an interdictor as needs demand.
However, if there was a Viper variant that didn't have cargo capacity but a 20m/s speed increase then I'd definitely use it. I think most people would.